The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #102: Con’t Conversation with Author, Artist, Musician, and Filmmaker Jeff Finley Part 2/2

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #102: Con’t Conversation with Author, Musician, and Filmmaker Jeff Finley Part 2/2

https://archive.org/download/Podcast102_201707/Podcast%20102.mp3

Jeff Finley is back this week to pick up where we left off.  If you happened to miss last week’s show, find episode 101 here.

Today, we talk about a lot of fun things – e.g. travelling in a new country and discovering not only new cultures, foods, and languages but aspects of yourself that come from putting yourself outside your comfort zone.  Travel naturally does this, as we’ve talked about before, fine tuning your senses and kicking you out of whatever routine day-to-day stuff you have going on.  There definitely comes a point when that gets to be too much of a good thing (as Jeff discusses here and on his blog), but like a spice, sprinkled here and there, it can do wonders for keeping things interesting in your life.

We also get to learn more about Jeff’s long career as a music producer (see below) as well as how he got into bboying.  It’s so rare that I find someone with as many diverse interests that it was such a pleasure to discuss these aspects of creative life with Jeff.

Check out Jeff’s portfolio here.   If you’d like one of this patches for your own, check out his etsy site.

Click on the covers of Jeff’s below to find a copy of your own.

Image result for thread's not dead  Image result for jeff finley astral projection

Social Media Links:

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Just for podcast listeners!  Get early access to a new upcoming EP, called Between Two Worlds, the sequel to Long Ago Not So Far Away.  Go here to download the album:

http://bit.ly/2txyAaM

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

The album will be available for one month (until 8/10/17).  The access code is on episode 100 at ~31:30.

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #101: A Conversation with Author, Artist, Musician, and Filmmaker Jeff Finley Part 1/2

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #101: A Conversation with Author, Musician, and Filmmaker Jeff Finley Part 1/2

https://archive.org/download/Podcast101_201707/Podcast%20101.mp3

For the next two weeks, we’ll be having a special guest on the show, so please welcome Jeff Finley!

I first came across his work when he and his friends made a little documentary about their friend, keyboardist and bit-torrent user extraordinaire, Brent Simon, back in 2006, when Youtube was just in its infancy.   (Believe it or not, you can still listen to a few of his songs on myspace).  It was a fine example of “day-in-the-life” style indie film making.  Brent was not only a captivating subject, but he was unabashedly himself, much to the delight of the many people who saw the film, identified with his interests (the original PSP, computers, bittorrent, Spacecamp, synthesizer music, etc), and propelled him to stardom.  If you’re interested in any of those things, you can and should watch (or rewatch) the film by clicking on the screen shot below.  Brent, if you ever come across this, know you’ll always have a warm welcome on the show.

Capture

Brent rocks out without looking at the keys.

Jeff served at Brent’s manager while continuing to pursue his own projects, which spanned a variety of fields, many of which we discussed on the show, such as writing a successful book on creating a t-shirt business (see Thread’s Not Dead below) and starting the creation of the Weapons of Mass Creation multimedia art festival (still going on today).

Of course, if you talk to many a creative soul, they’ll often tell you that making art isn’t “work” in the traditional sense.  It certainly can be hard, time consuming, and frustrating – don’t get me wrong – but it’s yours.  The “work” part comes from getting other people to notice and/or care, and for many, the business and promotion inevitably leads to disillusionment and/or burnout with the whole process.  We talked about this, too, and Jeff shared how those experiences led him to adopt a slower pace more in tune with maintaining a more centered existence.

Since the recording went on for about 90 minutes, I’ve broken the interview into two parts since there was a natural transition about halfway.  This week, we’ll focus on Jeff’s filmmaking days, his time with Brent, and experiences starting his own business, writing books, and repairing his mental health by getting back in touch with the important things in life.

AS you might imagine from the title image above, he is a skilled artist in many ways, so check out his portfolio here as well as the patches he sells (click on the picture below to go to his etsy site).  We’ll talk more about them at the start of next week’s show.

Astral Traveler Patch - Metaphysical Fashion Accessory - 3

We’ll also touch on travel, Jeff’s own music, and breakdancing next week, so in the meantime, check out some of his books and music.

Click on the covers of Jeff’s below to find a copy of your own.

Image result for thread's not dead  Image result for jeff finley astral projection

Social Media Links:

To be continued next week!

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Just for podcast listeners!  Get early access to a new upcoming EP, called Between Two Worlds, the sequel to Long Ago Not So Far Away.  Go here to download the album:

http://bit.ly/2txyAaM

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

The album will be available for one month (7/10-8/10/17).  The access code is on episode 100 at ~31:30.

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #100: A Trip Down Memory Lane with an Old Ideas Notebook and New EP

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #100: A Trip Down Memory Lane with an Old Ideas Notebook and New EP

https://archive.org/download/Podcast100_201707/Podcast%20100.mp3

I recently uncovered an old notebook that had ideas for a Thirteenth Hour game (which I wrote about here).  Since I was trying to do it from the ground up, I wrote a number of songs (or at least tried to, anyway).  I also found an old animation sequence of Logan flying Lightning through a rising sun cloudscape.

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Those images must have inspired these ones:

Episode 100 also marks somewhat of an occasion.  Podcast listeners get early access to a new upcoming EP, called Between Two Worlds, the sequel to Long Ago Not So Far Away.  Go here to download the album:

http://bit.ly/2txyAaM

The album will be available for one month (7/10-8/10/17).  The access code is on the podcast (you can skip to 31:30 for the code).

Coming next week, we’ll have artist, musician, and filmmaker: Jeff Finley.  His documentary about his friend Brent Simon, who sang songs about Spacecamp, means that there’s only one thing to be done sometime in the near future: rewatch the 1986 film, Spacecamp, and do an episode on it. And if that happens will Howard the Duck be far behind? Until then, we’ll be hearing from Jeff soon.

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #99: Reflection on Rewatching Back to the Future

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #99: Reflection on Rewatching Back to the Future

https://archive.org/download/Podcast99_201706/Podcast%2099.mp3


In today’s show, I’m talking about something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time – rewatch Back to the Future, one of my favorite movies of all time.  As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes I’ve deferred rewatching the films I loved as a kid in the event  time rendered them in a more negative light.  “I’d rather remember you the way you were back then,” I’d rationalize to myself, not without some melodrama, and put the movie back on the shelf.  

Which is, of course, ridiculous, since part of the draw of any good story is its ability to be appreciated on multiple levels, by multiple ages.  And despite knowing this, I still sometimes wanted to protect my childhood favorites.  

I need not have worried with Back to the Future.  If anything, rewatching BTTF was like tasting a fine wine that’s been left to age a few more decades in the casket.  One taste reminds you of everything you’ve missed, sweeted by time.  And you think to yourself, “Why did I wait so long?”  

Truth be told, BTTF has had over thirty years to let the embers of time add to its flavor.  So there were a number of layers to the film that I couldn’t have appreciated as a child of 8 or 9.  The teenage mix of independence, idealism, and bravado to hide the yearning for unconditional love and acceptance.  The wall of middle age, with its inevitable disappointments and losses, that has dulled the keen blade of adolescence to a blunted, beveled edge.  The lonely journey of the scientist, plodding away amid failure after failure with only the glimmer of rare success to guide the way.  The social commentary on gender roles and racial stereotypes.  The multigenerational themes that get passed from parent to child.  It’s all there, though I missed it the first few times around.

I also was surprised to see how much the Marty McFly character influenced the creation of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour.  I initially thought he was kind of like a young Indiana Jones type (like the character portrayed by Patrick Flannery).  Then after rewatching The Rocketeer, I was impressed how much Cliff Secord there was in him. And now, after rewatching BTTF, I can’t help but recognize how much Marty there is in his DNA.  Not surprising since The Thirteenth Hour paid homage to these films in various ways.  But I just forget all the myriad ways the films permeated the fabric of the manuscript from the very beginning.

In any event, speaking of beginnings, episode 100 is coming next week, and shortly thereafter, we’ll have artist, musician, and filmmaker: Jeff Finley.  His documentary about his friend Brent Simon, who sang songs about Spacecamp, means that there’s only one thing to be done sometime in the near future: rewatch the 1986 film, Spacecamp, and do an episode on it. And if that happens will Howard the Duck be far behind? Until then, we’ll be hearing from Jeff soon.  

Episode 100 will have more details about an upcoming EP, the sequel to Long Ago Not So Far Away.  Podcast listeners get first dibs!  Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.  

Check it out!

Starving Artist Section: Rewardable TV

This app for iOS and Android is a remarkably stable but passive way to earn some cash online by viewing short videos or animated gifs. Check out the link below for more info:

http://dl.rewardable.com/

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #98: The Thirteenth Hour Sequel Updates

Episode #98: The Thirteenth Hour Sequel Updates – Fanciful Fantasy Vehicles and Zork Choose Your Own Adventure Style Reading

https://archive.org/download/Podcast98_20170625/Podcast%2098.mp3

In today’s show, I’m talking about some previews coming from a draft I’m working on for the sequel(s) to The Thirteenth Hour, some of which takes place in a technologically advanced world with strange aspects of future life, like fanciful ways to get around.

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A vapor rider is basically a magic powered boat with hydrofoils that allows it to skim across the surface of the water.

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A cloud rider is magic powered flying wing to skim above the clouds.

You can see both vapor riders and cloud riders in the title graphic above.

Over the next few months, we’ll occasionally be reading from these old Zork stories, which essentially function as Choose Your Own Adventure style game books.  Just like that series, there are decision points requiring you to go to different points in the book and black and white inked illustrations for many of the pages.  I think these books are long out of print, but click on the image of the book below to see if you can find a used copy of your own.

The synthesizer music in between the sequel updates and the Zork reading is courtesy of Brent Simon, an internet sensation from the mid 2000s (yes, his music clips from his old MySpace age still miraculously work).  You’ll hear more about him in a few weeks.  Jeff Finley, who made a documentary about his friend that made it big a number of years ago, will be coming on the show in a few weeks!

Speaking of music, episode 100 will have more details about an upcoming EP, the sequel to Long Ago Not So Far Away.  Podcast listeners get first dibs!  Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.  Check it out!

 

As always, thanks for listening!

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